


we met at the riverbank as i was running away

by orphan_account



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Gen, Inspired By Early Modern Era, It Gets Worse, M/M, No there's a lot of swearing in this-, Norgay's Kind Of A Dick In The First Few Chapters (Trademark), Swearing, Symbolism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-30 01:19:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13939482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: lukas has been taking care of emil for the longest time, in a small house at the edge of the woods, close to a town that has helped them stay alive through trading and selling. a few months after emil turns 16, he meets tino and berwald, who he quickly befriends. a chain of events started a spark, which could become a fire that would burn down the entire earth, leaving only ash and smoke behind. lukas has to flee, but he meets a stranger that could turn everything around and extinguish the candle's flame.





	we met at the riverbank as i was running away

**Author's Note:**

> Casual Reminder:
> 
> Lukas Bondevik - Norway  
> Emil Bondevik - Iceland  
> Tino Väinämöinen - Finland  
> Berwald Oxenstierna - Sweden  
> Magnus Densen - Denmark
> 
> Other characters in later chapters will have their names added in the beginning of the chapter, as to not flood this section while also preventing spoilers.
> 
> -
> 
> The first thing I changed was Ice's last name to Norway's, as there was no need to have different surnames for this AU.
> 
> Second thing, which I know I'll get wrongly corrected about, is Denmark's name. Densen was a suggested last name (the only suggested one, actually) and Magnus was one of the suggested first names. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Mathias Køhler isn't actually canon. At all. 
> 
> Third, it'll be obvious, but this story is set in Norway, in the Troms province. I was tempted to use Finnmark, but literally nobody lives there so what's the point.
> 
> Last thing, it's an alternate universe-thing where it's modern territories and countries except it's not in the modern era? I don't know, just act like it's not 'because plot' hah-

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A misty sheet of fog hung in the sky, chilling the air in a cool, crisp way. Ginger leaves trailed over the ground, a flamelike blanket stretching for miles and miles on end. Squirrels skittered around here and there a lone crow cawed once in a while, adding a pleasant, lifelike touch to the otherwise stranded forest. It was a simple November morning, slightly windy with a little hint of warmth. And of course, whenever the sky was kind enough to not send fleets of rain and hail at this particular time in this particular place, people were out. People were out, enjoying the damp, cool atmosphere that wasn't too cold nor too warm (though heat wasn't particularly expected, so relief from the frigid weather was more supposed) and it seemed perfect. 

On days like these, prey would be out, collecting until the next heavy rainfall, which would return in a few days. Of course it would. But with the short time available, many learn to make the most of it. They'd go into seemingly empty areas, hunting until midnight came, some even after that, where prey would be unsuspecting of its end, too busy gathering supplies to stay alive.

Lukas thought that in this way, he was prey himself. Of course, he hunted and killed to sell and use. That would instantly make him a predator. But at the same time, some predators could be outwitted, outplanned, outpowered. He kept that thought in mind every time he went out, for it was not only the ferocious animals that could fight back, but also the storms that threatened to wipe him and his brother out just like they did with their parents. Starvation was not a pretty sight, so he did all he could to keep a supply of both coins and prey just to make sure it never happened again. He never wanted to revisit those times.

With a rattled breath, he pushed the thoughts at the back of his mind.

"Are you ready?" Lukas called, slinging a quiver over his shoulder, and a sash-bag on his other. Sliding a spare knife into the bag, he picked up his bow and walked towards his brother's room, where he could hear the teenager moving around. He quietly opened the door, padding inside.

Emil had his cloak fitted on already, a thin shield against the cool breeze. He slung his bag on his waist and took his bow, arrows already balanced in the pack.

"Just a second." Emil paused, glancing at himself in the cracked mirror by his desk. After arranging himself, he let out a loose sigh and nodded.

" _Let's go_."

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The two brothers trekked through the overgrown forest, brushing against little shrubs and stepping over leaves that crackled like fire ablaze on kindling.

"Have you been practicing while I'm in town?" Lukas asked.

"Yes." Emil simply responded.

"Show me what you've worked on, then." Lukas grabbed a hold of him by the shoulder, pointing to a hare that leaped up, a few feet away from Lukas and Emil.

"Alright..." Emil scrambled over for an arrow, and fixed it into his bowstring with a trembling hand. Forcing himself to relax, he stood in a more rigid way, although he was still visibly shaking.

Pulling back, he let the arrow fly. It almost missed, but the white rabbit fell down with a shrill shriek, catching the arrow in its side.

"Quickly." Lukas clicked his tongue.

Emil nodded, taking his dagger out of his pocket and walking closer to his prey. The rabbit was still alive, but it didn't move other than a slight twitch when Emil sliced its neck.

"You need to work on your aim, since you can't always depend on daggers. It's a bit of a messy catch, but it seems better than before." Lukas examined the prey, and gently put it in his bag.

"If it helps..." Emil broke in. "...I heard about someone offering archery lessons. You could sign me up for those."

"That does seem like a good idea." Lukas tilted his head slightly, thinking. "How much do they cost?"

"I think it was around 5 for every lesson." Emil narrowed his eyes.

"I might manage to sell a bit without the rain, so I think we'll have enough for two lessons every week for three months if I find a few deer and some other animals..." Lukas said, half to himself. "It's settled then."

"Alright." Emil sighed in relief.

Anything would be better than to listen to Lukas complain about how his catch wasn't ' _clean_ '. He had heard enough of it to last him a lifetime, and another one in the afterlife.

"Anyways..." Lukas said smoothly. "We can stop by the stream before we go on."

Emil nodded. He looked away, exasperated. In a way, he wanted to discuss how uncomfortable it was to be criticized by Lukas at everything he did. But on the other hand, he knew that he would get scolded like a tiny child. Emil cursed under his breath, countless thoughts running through his mind that he wished he could say out loud.

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Emil skidded to a halt at the stream, taking a moment to rest. He walked forwards, standing at the edge of a stout cliff that towered over the river under it.

Though he was well beyond irritated a few moments ago, a strange sense of serenity dominated it. He cast a glance behind him, where Lukas was refilling his water skin at the fresh spring. The water fell into a shallow cavern carved by itself, where pebbles clustered to add a natural feel to the stream. Emil followed the stream's trail, where it thickened and thinned in no particular pattern. And then, it moved from stone to scarce grass to lush greenery, looping down from the hill to the medium-sized crystalline lake. It reflected the growing sunrise, orange rays glittering like gold. Furthermore, flowers and little animals circled the river, almost as if protecting it. This place made you feel dreamy and made your mind whirl, which almost made it seem sacred. To some, it was. It was the heart of the woods, as it was called. It was an unspoken law between the hunters that came this way to never hunt here unless completely desperate, and if you seemed fit and lucky then you'd be detested for hunting here.

"Shall we move on?" Lukas called.

"Oh, I'll get some water and then we can go." Emil turned around, looking more relaxed than he had been in a while. 

"We can try hunting by the glen. You know the one, by the side of the hills, right?" Lukas asked.

"We haven't gone there in a long time."

"Nobody has. It's exactly the reason why I want to try hunting there. The population might've increased since last year's December, so we might get a few good kills there."

Emil just nodded. All his annoyance vanished, replaced by a more patient feeling. He couldn't quite describe it, but he knew it was something positive. It had to be.

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End file.
